The National Carnival Commission is getting ready to launch Carnival 2026 this Friday, one hundred days before the official start of the festival.
Chairman of the NCC, Peter Kanhai, says this year’s launch will take on a new form. For the first time, the official Carnival launch will be staged at the Brian Lara Promenade in Port of Spain, bringing the festivities directly to the people.
“This is a change, because usually the launch would take place in the controlled environs of the Queen’s Park Savannah grandstand. On this occasion, we feel that we need to take Carnival to the people, so we’re taking the Carnival to the Brian Lara Promenade in an all-day event. It starts at nine in the morning and run until six in the afternoon, featuring all aspects of Carnival – calypso, tassa, rhythm sections, traditional characters – and there’ll even be a kids’ zone during the course of the day.”
Mr. Kanhai also addressed concerns about the ongoing state of emergency, saying it will not affect the staging of Carnival 2026. He added that safety measures are being coordinated with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Port of Spain City Corporation.
The NCC Chairman also emphasised that the economic impact of Carnival extends far beyond the two official days of revelry.
“If you try now, you will find all the hotels are booked for that Carnival. Two weeks before Carnival, all the businesses that benefit – the restaurants, the art shops, really the fabric shops, and the taxis – everybody benefits, so that there is a real benefit to Trinidad and Tobago. For Carnival, the tourism, the figures I was given for 2025 was that there were about 34,000 visitors to Trinidad over that Carnival season.”